LIBRARY OF^CONGRESS, 









UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 



y 



tCopyriglitcd 1881 by J. M. B.uley.) 



ESSAY UPON ENSILAGE. 

BY THE 

AUTHOR OF THE "BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 



i,|yjWHAT IS A Silo, and What is Ensilage axu What are 

V\*N^ "'"^^ Advantages? 

\^ This is what the farmers want to know when the ^^ Netv Dispen- 

T section, or system of Ensilage,"' is presented to their attention. . 

A Silo is a cistern or vat, air and water tight on the bottom and 
sides, with an open top, constructed of masonry or concrete. It 
may be square, rectangular, round or oval in shape, with perpen- 
dicular sides, used to store in their green state forage-crops, such as 
corn, sorgho, rye, oats, millet, Hungarian grass, clover, pea and 
bean vines, and all the grasses. 

The structure is the Silo, which may be above ground, or partly 
or entirely below the surface of the ground. The fodder preserved 
in Silos is Ensilage. 

Its advantages are many and great. Its adoption means more 
and better stock for the farmer. It means more manure, larger 
and better crops. It means increased fertility and productiveness 
of the farms. It means saving the waste in drying forage 
which has so long made farming a hard struggle for a mere 
subsistence. It means more income, more leisure for intellectual 
improvement and social enjoyment. It means more comforts, car- 
pets and conveniences in the farmer's home. It means refinement, 
accomplishments and pianos for the farmer's girls. It means re- 
newed interest in- farming by the boys, who under the advantages 
of the new dispensation will stay on the old farm. It means enjoj'- 
ment and pleasure with their fine stock. It means wolf-skin robes 
to wrap around the girls when taking them to ride behind fine sleek 
colts of their own raising, while they make the winter's air jingle 
with the music of their sleigh bells and the echoes ring with the 
sound of their happy voices. It means lifting the mortgage off 
the old farm. It means money in the bank, and a snug sum over, 
to help the boy who went to the city to buy a little farm on which 
to regain his strength and live a life of happiness and indepen- 
dence, after years spent dancing attendance behind a counter or 
leaning over books in a hot stifling counting-room have robbed him 
of his health. It means a library of choice books, well read. It 
means a daily newspaper and two or three good agricultural papers. 
It means farmers' clubs, lectures and intellectual development. It 
means all this, and more, for as all depends upon the farmer's suc- 
cess, its general adoption will bring prosperity and enhance the 
happiness of all classes of society. 

It is equally well adapted to the mechanic with one cow and one- 
fourth of an acre as to the dairyman or stock-raiser with hundreds 
of cattle. 



A great advance has been made within a few years in agricul- 
tural knowledge ; and among the most valuable facts learned has 
been this, that grass contains a greater amount of nutrition when 
in blossom than at any time before or afterwards. 

The seed formed in the head of a stalk of timothy or other grass 
— wiiile A^ery rich and nutritious in itself — does not by any means 
compensate for the loss which has been sustained by the stalk and 
leaves while the seed is forming and ripening. 

What is true of the common grasses, viz.: timothy, red-top, 
orchard-grass, and clover, is equally true of corn, which is but a 
gigantic grass. 

If, then, a stalk of corn contains at the time it blossoms more 
nutritive value than at any subsequent time, how foolish and waste- 
ful to let it stand for the ear to form at the expense of the stalk, 
while at the same time great loss is going on from the leaves and 
the stalk, as is the case with other and smaller grasses. 

Why not take and preserve the jilant when its nutritive value is 
the greatest ? when all its valuable elements are mixed and blended 
in an harmonious whole exactly adapted for the healthy sustenance 
of our domestic animals, by that Master Chemist whose handiwork 
as seen in the tiniest leaf is so far in advance of our most skilful 
combinations that we can never even hope to comprehend how it 
was formed from the original elements ? 

There is no doubt in my mind that there is more available 
nutrition in a kernel of grain when it is fully grown, before it has 
had time to harden, before a part of its substance has been con- 
verted into a hard tough envelope, which is almost indigestible, 
than at any subsequent time. This hard protecting envelope is a 
wise and providential provision to protect the kernel as a seed for 
future crops. Heretofore no means have been known to preserve 
grain except by ripening and drying, nor to cure forage-crops 
except by drj'ing: since Ensilage has been proved practical, we 
may now harvest all our ci-ops when they contain the greatest 
available amount of assimilable nutritive elements, and jireservc 
them unimpaired indefinitely. In this view of the object of rijJen- 
ing grain, the conclusion is irresistible that the nutritive acme in 
corn and other grain is to be found at or before the blossoming- 
period, as it is in the grasses. 

Green grass and other forage-crops contain over 80 per cent of 
water ; in the process of curing by drying, about 70 per cent is 
evaporated. Now, this 70 per cent of water carries with it a large 
amount of valuable nutrition. That which passes off is just what 
makes the difference between June butter and winter butter. If it 
does not lose by drying the first time, how does it happen that it 
loses so much by drying the second time, after being wet ? The 
wetting does not injure the forage, else cut feed would be injured 
by being sprinkled, and steaming fodder would be utter ruin. It is 
the drying, after the wetting, that robs the forage of its value. 
The water which is dried out of the forage leaves it in the shape of 
hay-tea, and the first " drawing " is the strongest. 

When Ensilaging my corn-fodder, in fall of 1879, many farmers 
and others came to see the process of tilling the Silo with the 

a6 



-.*> 



green cor il-f odder ; nearl}^ all declared that it would spoil, mould, 
heat, and rot. Several said, " I guess yoa will have a fine lot of 
manure before winter." 

This kind of talk had been going on for several days, and was, I 
confess, getting to be rather monotonous. So one day, while a 
number of well-meaning but incredulous neighboring farmers 
were present, I made up mj^ mind I would convince them 
that the green corn-fodder would kec2J instead of rotting : therefore 
I said, "You think it will heat and spoil, do you?'' "Yes, I am 
afraid it will,"' said they each and all. . "Now, I tell you it won't 
do any such thing." "Why won't it? what makes you think 
so ? ^' they asked. Said I, " Why doesn't a pile of horse-manure 
heat when it is left in the stable all winter under the feet of the 
horses, until it gets three or four feet deep ? Why doesn't sheep- 
manure heat when it is left all winter in the sheep-folds, and 
becomes a foot and a half to two feet deep ? " "Because it is trod, 
down so solid the air can't get into it." "Just so! that is the 
reason this corn-fodder won't heat and spoil: it is 'trod down' so 
solid that the air cannot get into it," I rejoined. This was rather 
a staggerer. " Is there anything, which is quicker to heat when it 
has a chance than horse or sheep manure ? '' I asked. " Ko-o-o," 
they reluctantly admitted, "Now, see here,'' said I, "haven't 
you all noticed in the spring, when you were getting out your hog- 
manure, that you often came across, in the bottom of the yards, 
buried under the manure, potato-vines and weeds which had been 
thrown into the hogs the fall before, that were just as green and 
fresh as when they were first pulled out of the ground ? " They 
all replied, "Yes, we have." 

"Well," said I, "my Ensilage will keep just the same way. I 
trample it down solid as it is put in the Silos, and put about a foot 
in depth of cobble-stones or bowlders upon it, which will press it as 
solid as a cider press. No air can then get in. The air and gases 
already in are continually being forced out by the weight. 
Therefore it cannot heat any more than the horse and sheep ma- 
nure can when it is trodden down compactly'." They were silenced. 

My explanation why it keeps, is this : — 

When it is packed closely and trodden down ever so vigorously, 
still there is some air left in the little spaces between the pieces of 
the stalks; and the dried leaves, if there are any, are full of air 
which has taken the place of the sap which has evaporated. The 
oxygen in this amount of air — be it greater or smaller — immedi- 
ately starts a fermentation. Fermentation, mould, decay, rot and 
fire are all identical. The only difference is in the degree of speed 
with which the combustion goes on. They all alike depend ujwn 
the presence of oxygen, and cease when this active agent of destruc- 
tion is removed. The process of combustion, whether slow or 
rapid, consumes oxygen, and gives out carbonic acid gas. 

This fermentation consumes the small amount of oxygen which 
is contained in the mass of Ensilage, and liberates an amount of 
carbonic acid gas which takes the place of the oxygen. The fer- 
mentation in its incipient stage is arrested for want of oxygen. 
None can get in from the top ; for the compression which is con- 



stantly going on is all the time forcing the gases out, and where 
there is ever so slight a flow out, none can possibly flow in. Then, 
as the carbonic acid gas is heavier than the atmosphere, the sides 
and bottom of the Silo being tight, and as the carbonic acid gas 
cannot leak out, the air cannot get down into the space occupied by 
the carbonic acid gas, any more than air can get down into a jug 
filled with water or other heavy liquid until the water or other 
liquid is poured or leaks out. Tlte Ensilage is thus immersed in a 
hath of caA'honlc acid gas. Fermentation under such circumstances 
is an impossibility. 

ClIEMlSTIiY OF THE SiLO. 

That important chemical changes take place during the curing 
of green forage plants by the system of Ensilage cannot be 
doubted. I believe tliere is a formation of acetic acid to a greater 
or less extent in all cases, and that the acetic fermentation is the 
first change Avhich takes place. There can l)e no saccharine fermen- 
tation until after acetic fermentation takes jilace. I doubt its 
being a saccharine fermentation at all : it is rather a transformation. 

I understand the changes to take place as follows: the oxygen of 
the air in the mass acting upon the sugar in the plant converts 
that sugar (in corn about 11 per cent) into acetic acid ; the acid 
acts v;pon the starch (in corn about 56 per cent), and converts it 
into grape-sugar, or glucose, in much the same manner as sulj)huric 
acid acts upon the corn in the manufacture of glucose. The next 
stage of fermentation is the conversion of the grape-sugar, or 
glucose, into alcohol, which, being very volatile, passes off into the 
atmosphere. Then, and not until then, does real putrid fermenta- 
tion or decay begin. The previous stages are metamorphoses or 
changes from one form to another of the elements of nutrition. 

If the above is correct, the presence of acetic acid, or sourness, 
so far from being an injury, is a positive benefit ; for without the 
acid the starch, which is hard to digest, could not be converted into 
sugar, which is easy to digest. 

Analysis of Ensilage from the "Winning-Farm" Silos. 

By C. A. Goessmann, Ph.D. 

Professor of Chemistry, Chemist to the Massachusetts State. Board of Agriculture 
and Utate Inspector of Commercial Fertilizers. 

The sample of Silo corn (Ensilage) consists of : — 

PERCENT. 

Moisture at 212''-220° Fahrenheit .... 80.70 

Dry matter left 19.30 100.00 

This dry matter consists of: — 

PAUTS. 

Crude celUilose . . . . . . . . 6.43 

Fat etlier abstract . . 0.62 

Albuminoids " . . . 1.56 

Non-nitrogenous extract matter 8.92 

Asli (witli traces of sand) 1.77 19.30 

Also an average analysis of the corn-plant in the milk : — 

PER CENT. 

Moisture at 212^-220*^ Fahrenheit .... 85.04 

Dry matter 14.96 100.00 



PARTS. 

Ash 0.S2 

Albuminoids 0.86 

Fat , 0.26 

Crude celulose 4.53 

Non-nitrogenous extractive matter .... 8.49 14.96 

By comparing the two tables it will be seen that the Ensilage 
contains over 29 per cent more dry matter than the whole plant in 
the milk; over 41 per cent more of crude cellulose ; over 138 per 
cent more of fat ; over 81 per cent more albuminoids ; over 5 per 
cent more of non-nitrogenous extract matter; over 115 per cent 
more ash (or mineral constituents). 

It will also be seen that the nutritive ratio of the Ensilage is one 
part of albuminoids to 6-^,^ parts of non-nitrogenous extractive 
matter (digestible carbo-hydrates). This makes its nutritive ratio a 
little better than timothy hay, which is, according to Dr. Wolff, 
1 to 8yV> but not quite as good as average clover hay, which is 1 to 
Oy^jj. By this analysis corn Ensilage would seem to be much nearer 
a perfect food than I have supposed. To have a perfect food rye 
and clover should be ensilaged together in Maj^ and corn, millet, 
clover, aftermath, pea and bean vines in the fall; by mixing them 
together a well balanced food is obtained, which will keep animals 
in good condition without feeding grain. 

I shall institute a series of experiments to test the correctness 
of this analysis ; for, however satisfactory a chemical analysis 
ma}' be, the real touchstone is the feeding value demonstrated 
by careful and repeated experiments. 

What farmers want to know is not what an article of food is 
worth chemically, but how much it is worth to feed to their stock. 

Chemical analysis of green forage and of Ensilage cannot be de- 
pended njDon to determine their feeding value, for no account is 
taken of the loss in drying which is the first step in analyzation. 
As explained above, the water as it is evaporating carries with 
it the most valuable elements of nutrition. There is a loss 
whether the drying takes place in the field or in the laboratory of 
the chemist. When chemists give us an analysis of Ensilage 
or of green forage in comparison with an analysis of hay or 
other dry forage, they are not really giving us an analysis of 
Ensilage or of green forage at all, but one of Ensilage or green 
forage which has been dried at a temperature of 212' in the labo- 
ratory to compare tvith an analysis of forage dried in the field. 

It is because they have not taken into consideration the loss 
which ensues while they are drying samples for analysis that they 
can give no good reason why it is, that in practice animals thrive 
so much better than upon the same amount of ferage which has 
been dried; they find by analysis no great difference between green 
grass and well-cured hay, and therefore assume that there is none. 

They assume that the reason why it takes a less amount of Ensi- 
lage to nourish an animal than it does of green forage fresh from 
the field is because the Ensilage has lost a part of its water while 
lying in the Silo, ignoring the fact that in properly constructed 
Silos it does not lose any weight. This is proven in three ways by 
me: first, the plank covering is always dry, small wedges inserted 



between the plank do not become any tighter, showing that the 
phmks do not swell ; secondly, when the temperature is 20^ below 
zero there is no signs of frost around the cracks between the plank 
covering, which would certainly be manifest were there any 
evaporation going on ; thirdly, I have weighed the corn-fodder into 
the Silo and weighed it out, and find that there is a loss of not 
exceeding one per cent., which is easily accounted for by evapor- 
ation while the forage is being cut and put into the Silo. When 
they accept this fact they will then, perhaps, be able to show that 
60 lbs. of Ensilage is equal in feeding value to 100 to 120 lbs. of 
fresh corn-fodder on account of something else except the conver- 
sion of starch into grape sugar by the action of acetic acid. 

The true test is, will the cattle eat and thrive upon it? 

My experiments thus far satisfy me that the A^alue of corn- 
fodder is doubled by the softening and fermentive process which it 
undergoes in the Silos; that two tons of it are worth more to feed 
than four tons of corn-fodder fresh from the fields, or one ton of 
best timothy hay. 

I received the above analysis the last of April, and at once 
resolved to test it by experimentation. I selected two thorough- 
bred two-year-old Jersey bulls, and weighed them. " Rossmore " 
weighed i)()0 pounds, *' Hero '" weighed 800 pounds. "Rossmore" 
was fed 40 pounds of Ensilage dail^^, and notliinrj else. '•'Hero" 
was fed 40 pounds of Ensilage and three pounds of wheat-bran 
dail}^, and nothing more. June 2 I weighed them again, and found 
that " Rossmore " weighed 9G0 pounds, having neither gained or 
lost; showing, so far as one experiment could, that 40 pounds of 
Ensilage, containing over 80 per cent of water, was sufficient to sus- 
tain in a healthy condition the functions of the animal system, and 
replace the waste tissue. His hair was smooth, he appeared to be 
satisfied, and Sylvester thought he was gaining. ''Hero'' at this 
time weighed 943 pounds, being a gain of 53 pounds in 34 days, or 
1.561^ pounds daily : as it took the 40 pounds of Ensilage to sus- 
tain the animal, it follows, that 102 pounds of wheat-bran, fed with 
the Ensilage, produced 53 pounds of beef (live weight). 

The Nutritive Value of Ensilage. 

That it is a highly nutritious food is proven by the fact that 
my cows, fed upon it during the winter, brought me very fine, 
large, strong calves, — upon their feet and sucking almost as soon 
as dropped. My Vermont ]\[erino ewes sheared upon an average 9 
pounds of wool, which I sold for 30 cents a pound at home. They 
also brought fine, strong, vigorous lambs. The lambs were sired, 
part of them, by.a pure Cotswold ram, and the balance by a pure 
Oxford down ram. They weighed, when born, from 6 to 12|- 
pounds each. Some of the Merino ewes bore twins weighing 17^ 
pounds. My Cotswold ewes did equally well, bringing lambs 
weighing from 10 to IS^- pounds each when born. 

Some of my Cotswold ewes sheared as high as 16 pounds of wool. 
The whole flock averaged 11 pounds 7 ounces. 

My Oxford downs averaged over 12 pounds of wool each. The 
weight of lambs and of fleeces given above proves that no food 



could l)e better for sheep. I have never seen young cattle and 
calves grow as rapidly in summer upon good pasture as thej^ do in 
Avinter in a warm stable and fed upon Ensilage and oil-meal. The 
mixture is eas}'' to digest; the animal does not have to work for it; 
there are no flies to annoy ; there is nothing to do hut to grow. 

I believe colts can he brought forward to maturity in less than 
two-thirds of the time required to raise them upon summer pasture 
and the usual winter food, and at less than one-half the cost, if fed 
upon corn, millet and clover or Held peas ensilaged together. See 
extracts from letters of 0. W. Garrett and Otis Bishee, page 13. 

Method of FEEDiNd, Warm Water for Stock, etc. 

In the fall of 1879 I had three 3'eai-ling steers come down from 
New Hampshire, where they had been at pasture, "spiring poor," 
as the saying is, — grade Jerseys and a native. They were very 
thin, — so reduced in flesh that I thought it very doubtful about 
their living through the winter. From their return, Oct. 15 until 
Dec. 3, I tried, with the best of hay, roots, and grain, to make them 
gain, but with no perceptible success. On December 3d I com- 
menced to feed them with Ensilage and a small quantity of wheat- 
shorts and oil-meal. I gradually increased the ration, feeding no 
more than they would eat up clean. The}' soon began to gain; 
their hair looked better ; they handled better. The improvement, 
at first slow, rapidly increased until, on the ninth day of March, I 
sold them for beef. Upon being slaughtered the next da}', they 
dressed 1,486 pounds. 

On the 12th of October, 1880, I opened my Silo, which was filled 
the preceding month. The Ensilage was found to be perfectly pre- 
served, — in color a muth darker green than my Ensilage of the 
previous year, — owing to the corn being packed in the Silo in a 
younger and more succulent stage. 

My method of feeding is as follows : I remove from the Silo 50 
pounds of Ensilage (about one cubic foot) for each grown animal 
daily, mixing one-pound of oil-meal and wheat bran to every 10 
pounds of Ensilage. I have a large box standing upon the barn 
floor, in which I mix it and let it stand about twenty-four hours 
before feeding, 13y that time it is quite warm : the grain addition 
has had time to become soft, and its digestibility is undoubtedly 
increased to a greater degree. There is in every 50 pounds of En- 
silage about 40 pounds of water, — nearly all the animal requires. 
It is a great advantage to have this amount of water warm when 
taken into the stomach. There has been no labor or fuel expended 
in warming it, which is quite an item. When ammals are allowed 
to drink ice-cold water in winter, there is quite a large percentage 
of the food which would produce fat consumed in raising the tem- 
perature of the water they drink from freezing cold to blood heat. 

When I opened my S'ilo, Ort. 12, 1880, I^weighed 20 head of 
stock, and commenced to feed them upon the Ensilaged corn. They 
were all quite thin, having been upon a very poor pasture all sum- 
mer. They could by no means be called a thrifty lot of cattle, or 
one from which we could confidently expect much gain. 



9 

From the beginning there was fed to the 21 he:ul, up to January 
4th, 1881,— 

OljOOC) XK)un(ls Ensilai,n% 0:6 $1.50 per ton, . $(58.48 

4,850 '• cotton seed meal, @ 25.00 " . . {>0.(J2 
2,490 " wheat bran, @ 18.00 " . . 22.41 

2,990 " malt combings, @ 12.50 " . . 17.(i2 

Total cost of keeping, $109.13 

Cost per clay, per head, 9^c. 

No. 3 has given since Oct. 26, 71 days, . 988 <iuarts milk. 

Cost of Jersey milk per quart, Of- mills. 

Total gain on the 21 head, .... 2,3524^ pounds. 

Gain per day, 29.04' " 

Gain per head, 112.00 

Average gain per head per day, . . . 1.33^ " 

Greatest gain per day, 2.78 '" 

Greatest gain ])or head. . , , . 217^^ '' 

No. 4 being weighed Jan. 17 was found to 

have gained 225 '• 

During the first 33 days she gained . . 100 " 

In the above the value of the manure is calculated to jiay for the 
care and attendance. 

These results are not guess work, but are correct, everything be- 
ing carefully weighed upon Fairbanks' standard scales. 

The gain in weight, however satisfactory iinder the circum- 
stances, does not convey an accui'ate idea of their real improvement. 
It is a well-known fact that there is a much larger proportion of 
water in a poor animal than in a fat one. The first change which 
takes place when fattening begins is a decrease in the amount of 
water contained in the tissues of the animal ; and the increase in fat, 
however considerable, does not always make up for this loss of weight. 

It is the opinion of all who inspected the above animals at the 
beginning of the experiment, as well as since Nov. 15, that the 
increase in weight does not equal the improvement in the quality of 
the beef. It should also be borne in mind that the season is the 
most unfavorable for gain, being at the commencement of cold 
weather, when cattle generally shrink in weight. 

I am feeding my store hogs upon about 8 pounds of Ensilage and 
one pound of middlings, to each animal weighing over 200 pounds. 
They are doing well, and the cost does not exceed two and one-half 
cents i>ev day. Clover preserved by Ensilage would be excellent, 
and require no grain added to it. Poultry of all kinds eat it greed- 
ily. No hen fancier should be without a small Silo in which to 
preserve green food for his fowls if he wants eggs in winter, or to 
keep his fowls healthy. 

I feed it occasionally to my work and driving horses. It has as 
good an effect as an occasional feed of carrots or other roots. 

In taking the Ensilage out of the Silo it is not necessary to 
replace the weights, neither does the Ensilage require to be pro- 
tected from freezing. . There is sufficient starch, sugar, and alcohol 
to keep it from freezing. Neither does the summer's heat ail^ect it 
From April 15 to the 6th of June, 1880, I fed only three animals 
from Ensilage which was not protected from the air. I frequently 
left some portion of the surface of the mass undisturbed for four 
days, at the end of which time it was warm to a depth of about four 



TO 

inches, iind ;i white mould began to appear on the outside ; all was 
consumed, however, with the greatest relish. Out of all the Ensilage 
that I have preserved not one-half of one per cent has been wasted. 

How 'j'o Raise the Maximum Crop of Foddeii Corn. 

A great amount of labor is lost by sowing fodder corn too thick, 
as well as a large amount of seed wasted. Many sow throe 
bushels to the acre ; some sow but two bushels ; and a few sow but 
one. I sow hut one-half bushel, and niy corn is always too thick. 
The man Avho has raised the largest crop the past season sowed but 
12 quarts of seed to the acre. Make the drills at least four feet 
apart, and sow one-half bushel of Mammoth Ensilage seed-corn to 
the acre ; then, when it is about a foot high, thin it to 6 and 8 inches 
between stocks, and I can assure j'ou, with a good corn season, 
if the land is suitable for corn, is Avell manured and given frequent 
cultivation, a crop weighing from 40 to 75 tons to the acre. When 
corn is planted too thick, those plants Avhich do not attain their 
full growth are nothing more than weeds. As dirt is only matter 
out of place, so a weed is only a plant out of place. No plant is so 
far out of }ilace as when it is crowded hy other plants of the same 
kind so that its growth is impaired: it then becomes a mere weed, 
and only serves to injure the growth of the proper number of 
plants in the hill or drill. 

The possibilities of Ensilage can hardly be over-estimated. 
When I said in the first edition of the " Book of Ensilage " that 
40 to 75 tons of green-corn fodder could he raised upon an acre of 
land ])rovided proper seed was used, sufficient manure was applied, 
and the right kind of cultivation bestowed, many doubted, and some 
ridiculed the statement; "but he laughs best who laughs last;" 
and I am happy to he able to state that J. G. Wolcott, wlio pro- 
cured his seed corn of me, has raised corn-fodder this year we'ighing 
at the rate of 72 tons to the acre, and that his whole crop averaged 
over 50 tons to the acre. Some of the stalks were 19 feet 6 inches 
tall, and weighed 12 pounds each. Several others report for the same 
seed crops varying from 45 to 75 tons per acre. With such crojis 
from 4 to 7 cows can be kept throughout the year upon an acre of 
land, provided a small ration of grain be fed daily while in milk. 
A very ordinary crop will keej* two cows to the acre. Do not fail 
to read the following extiacts from letters received from Avell-known 
gentlemen, whose experience corroborates my statements and are a 
valuable portion of this essay. I have not done as well as many of 
these but it should be borne in mind that T am experimenting upon 
an old, run-down farm, which, in 1877, could keep but 6 cows and 
one horse. I liad in my barn (Dec. 1, 1880) sufficient hay to keep 
(5 horses and Ensilage in my Silos ample for the sustenance of 40 
head of horned cattle, nearly 200 sheej), and 60 swine. I may 
state, also, that during the past three years, I have hought no hay 
or manure. This much Ensilage has benefitted me ; and there is 
no reason Avhy it should not beneht every farmer in like manner. 
That it may do so, is the earnest wish of my heart. 

\'cry respectfully, JOHN M. BAILEY. 



11 



READ WHAT IS SAID OF ENSILAGE, 

And the .success of those who have followed mi/ directions. 

" I beg to express my gratitude to yoii for the noble efforts you are 
making in behalf of the eause of agricultural science. Ensilage is (■) prove 
a great blessing to tlie world. . . . I am very gl.id that you have given 
us the lesulls of your experience in so neat a volume and i;i so clear a 
manner, that Jie who 7-uns may read." — MAKSHALL P. WILDER. 

" A work of incalculable importance to American farmers." — LEVI 
STOCKBKIDGE, I'reaidcnt Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



"A valuable contribution to our progress in rational stock feeding." — 
C. A. GOESSMANN, PH.D., Professor of Chemistry, Amherst College. 



"I have been greatly interested in the book."— EDWARD ATKINSON. 



Statk ok New Jkksey, Department of State, 

TiJENTox. N. J., July 0, 1880. 
My Dear Sir, — I consider the subject of Ensilage of the utmost import- 
ance, and trust vour book will be widelv read. 

Yours truly, HENRY C KELSEY. 



Ex-Gov. Talbot, of Massachusetts, writes: — 
Du. J. I\I. Bailey : Billekica, Aug. ;>, ISSO. 

Dear Sir,— I have been watching the results of your experiments in 
preserving green food for stock, for winter use, with great interest. 

If you can demonstrate to them that your method of preserving this 

cheap food is half what your experiments in'omise, you have done a great 

and noble work, not only for the agricultural interests of New England, but 

for all interests upon which depend the prosperity of our Commonwealth. 

Very truly yours, THOMAS TALBOT. 



Ex-Gov. Price, of New Jersey, lorites : — 

Ramsey's, BEKGEisr County, N. J., Nov. 27, IST.'). 
My Dear Sir, — I have no doubt that the preservation of corn stalks 
green for winter fodder will soon become the great resource of our farmers. 
Mr. Bailey is to be congratulated upon giving the first public exhibitioa 
of Ensilage, which promises such important changes. 

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, RODMAN M. PRICE. 



Depaktment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, July 28, 18S0. 
John 5t. Bailey, Esq., " Winning Farm," Billerica, Mass.: 

Sir. — I return you my hearty thanks for the beautiful copy of The Book 
of Ensilage, with which you have honored me. I admire the zeal and 
energy with which you have striven, amidst doubts and prejudices, to 
introduce it among us, and congratulate you upon the measure of success 
which has already attended your praiseworthy efforts. • ■ 

Respectfully, E. A. CARMAN, Acting Commissioner. 



Hon. Benj. P. Ware, says in an address before the State Grange : 
The experience of these gentlemen ( naming several who have built 
Silos after my plan ) seems to prove that when proper care has been taken 
success has followed. One acre of land by this system will winler G to 8 
cows. It is perfectly practicable, and cannot fail of success if tarried out in 
a careful and judicious manner, without which no man can succeed in 
anything. BENJ. P. WARE. 

J. M. Bailey, Esq.: Lakeview, Erie Co., N. Y., Jan. 28, ISSl. 

Dear Sir,— I think your book will do much good and cause many to build 
Silos. Ensilage is destined to work a great change in animal agriculture. 



12 

It will enable the farmers of New England to renew their worn out farms. 
By its service New England may produce her own meat of every kind. 1 
think 200 ton Silos can be built of concrete complete for $300. 

I believe Ensilage will fatten as fast as the best of pastures when a 
variety of grasses are used. Truly yours, E. W. STEWAKT. 

Dr. John M. Bailey : Randolph, Vt., May 14, 1880. 

Dear Sir, — Gen. Thomas and myself enjoyed our visit to "Winning 
Farm " very much; we hoi^e to repeat it some time when j^ou have not only 
settled Ensilage, but several other important things for agriculture. It 
promises much for the future when such men as yourself are giving their 
time and means to so valuable an end, J. B. MEAD, Supt. Agr. for Vt. 

Commonwealth of Virginia, 
Department of Agriculture, Richmond, Aug. l;), ISSO. 
Du. Jno, M. Bailey : 

Dear Sir, — I am much pleased with the Book of Ensilage. 

Yours truly, THOMAS POLLARD, Conunissioner. 

From the author of " Walkti and Talks.'' 

" MoKETON Fakm,"' Rochestek. N. Y., July 30, 1880. 
Dk. J. M. Bailey : 

Dear Sir, — I thank you for your Book of Ensilage. I have read it 
through with great interest. It is a very valuable and inatructlne book. 
Y(ju are a charming and cnthusiasiic writer. Resi^ectfully, JOS. II ARRIS. 

Du. John M. Bailey : Antkim, N. II. 

Dear Sir. — I am highly pleased with your Jiook of Ensilage. 1 think 
it must work a revolution in Eastern agriculture. Farmers' sons and 
daughters will be satisfied to stay on the old homesteads in New England. 

truly yours, D. II. GOODELL. 



JoHH M. Bailey, Esq.: Sottu Fkamingham, May 1, JSSO. 

Dear Sir, — I am glad you are calling attenti'in to Ensilage, and I have 
been reading accounts of your svstem with inteiest. 

Yery triily, E. LEWIS STURTEY.iNT. 

Brooklyn, N. Y., Feb. 2, 1S8L 
Dear Sir,—1 have read your " Book of Ensilage." It is more interest- 
ing than a novel. Yours respectfully, T. MILLER. 

Dr. J. M. Bailey, "Winning Farm : " Wassaic, N. Y., Aug. 2, 1880. 

Dear Sir, — I am in receipt of the Book of Ensilage, and am much 
pleased with it. . . . When at " Winning Farm " last April I was so fully 
impressed Mith the value of Ensilage that I resolved to try it myself. 
Therefore I put in eleven acres of corn fodder; the last of June I built nie 
a Silo of concrete 50 feet long, 12i feet wide and ](> feet deep. With many 
thanks for the courtesv shown me while at "Winning Farm,"' I am, very 
respectfully, ' JAMES S. CHAFFEE. 

Mr. Bailey : West Hanover, N. H., Jan. 2, 1881. 

Dear Sir, — Mv Silo opened all right. Cows eat the Ensilage greedily. 

Yours, J. II. BURRELL. 



Dr. J. M. Bailey : Whitinsville, Mass., Jan. 26, 18S1. 

Dear Sir, — I must say that l think your l)o()k gives much instruction 
which will be useful to any one who wishes to try the experiment of preserv-.< 
ing green fodder for animals. I had so mucli confidence in it that I have 
built two Silos which will hold .500 tons. I comiuenced feeding last week. 
I can see the quantity of milk increases by feeding tlie Ensilage. I think 
well of the Mammoth Ensilage Seed Corn. Yours truly, J. C. WIIITIN. 



McDnnnugh's la.Htitute, Baltimore Co., Md., Aug. 2, ISSO. 
Dr. J. M. Bailey :" 

My Dear Sir, — I have read your book with much interest. It contains 
much valuable information and will do good. Yours truly, W. ALLEN. 



13 

Early in the spring cf 18S0, D. IT. Bun-uU, of WliitmaTi & Burrull, 
LiUle Falls, N. Y., spent a day at "Winning Farm," perfecting plans for 
their Silos; later ho writes as follows : — 

Dear /Sir, — I liave received the Tiook of Ensilage, with wliich I am 
greatly pleased. I have my Silo, 56 feet long, 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep, 
completed, iind have ten acres of the finest corn growing I liave ever 
seen. , . . Yours truly, D. H. BUKRULL. 

Doctor Bailey : Waltham, Mass., Jan. 11, 3880. 

Dear Sir, — ... To you belongs the credit of bringing this impor- 
tant improvement before the farmers of America. A, B. BERllY. 



Felchvili.e, Yt., Jan. 18, 1881. 
Mi/ Dear Doctor, — Enclosed find check for Mammoth Ensilage Seed 
Corn. ... A word about Silos. I opened mine on the 16lh instant ; I 
don't know whether it is well preserved or not, but ilie cows will eat it in 
preference to best timothy or clover hay I cut, and there is a noticeable 
increase in the flow of milk. Yours, etc., S. B. PIERCE. 



De, Bailey: Holliston, Cal., Dec. 31,1880. 

Dear Sir, — I have built a Silo after your plan and filled the same with 
corn fodder, Avhich is all right. Stock of all kinds eat it with the greatest 
relish. I am feeding 10 head of 4 year old steers, each eating 60 lbs. per 
day, and they are doing finely. I shall want some of your corn to plant 
next season, . . . Yours truly, JOHN W. GREEN. 

Dk. J. M. Bailey : PouGnKEEPSiE, N. Y., Jan. 26, 1881. 

My Dear Sir, — One thing I have been rather surprised to find, and 
that is that my horse kept on Ensilage for two months, with a daily allow- 
ance of five quarts of oats, two quarts of corn meal and two quarts of wheat 
bran, has never before been in so good spirits as he is now, and I can't dis- 
cover any failure in endurance. He has eaten in the time not a particle 
of hay. I wish you to save for me 2i bushels of the Mammoth Ensilage 
Seed Corn. Yours truly, OTIS BISBEE. 

Littleton, Halifax Co., N. C, Dec. 16, 1880. 
Dr. J. M. Bailey, Billerica, Mass.: 

Dear Sir, — Presuming vou will recollect our meeting on the boat 
between Baltimore and Norfolk, Va., in August last, I will state the result 
of our conversation, and the perusal of your " Book of Ensilage," caused me 
to make the experiment, and, I am pleased to add, with entire success. I built 
two Silos, lb ft. long, 12 wide and 8 deep each, and filled them, mixed all 
through with pea vines |, corn and pearl millet together i. This was done 
in September ; after settling, was refilled about Oct. 15. The Tth of Novem- 
ber I opened one of them and found the contents in fine condition, my 
stock, horses, mules and cows eating it readily, and I have fed them no 
other long forage since I opened it. I have been working my mules and 
horses as usual ; and they have greatly improved in flesh since I have been 
feeding Ensilage. Very truly yours, C. W. GARRETT. 

Dr. Bailey: Alexandria. Ala., Nov. 28, 1880. 

Dear Sir, — We opened one of our Silos the middle of October, and have 
been feeding regularly since. We find the Ensilage better than we expected. 
The pea vines kept well in the Silo and make excellent food. 

BOWLDING & CO. 

Dr. John M. Bailey: Clairmont, N. H., Jan. 27, 1881. 

Dear Sir, — From one bushel of Mammoth Ensilage Seed Corn, which 1 
bought of you last June, I raised 60 tons of corn fodder. [Weight ascer- 
tained by weighing a cubic foot of Ensilage.] I built my Silo according to 
directions in your book, opened it November 1st, found the Ensilage per- 
fectly preserved. I fed 20 milch coms for 80 days upon it, with no hay or 
other dry food. I was milking 16. In less than three days there was an 
average gain of one quart per cow. The color and quality of the milk was 
the best I cver^aw, summer or winter, and I have been in the milk busi- 
ness five years. I fed the same kind and amount of grain with the Ensilage 




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